


A Coward No More

by Jeenius_the_Dork



Series: Tactical Necessity [4]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Ravio is important, Shadow Legend AU time again bois, Zelda and Legend are siblings fight me, a little backstory??, good old sleep deprivation fic, idk tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 07:50:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19127725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeenius_the_Dork/pseuds/Jeenius_the_Dork
Summary: Ravio reminisces of the past.





	A Coward No More

It wasn’t often Ravio was invited to Princess Zelda’s castle anymore. He wasn’t very offended by it, after all she was the queen of an entire kingdom. Zelda was busy with diplomatic meetings, or plans to strengthen the Hylian military, public appearances. It was all very familiar to him, especially after witnessing what Princess Hilda had to do for so many years.

 

Another thing may have to deal with the fact he looked exactly like her brother, Link. A purple haired, green eyed version of her brother who constantly wore a purple rabbit hooded cloak. He supposed he wasn’t the only one with a similar face to Link. There was the shadow.

 

The one that took Link’s name, appearance and title all for the sake of Hyrule. The man that called himself Legend now because he was travelling with other incarnations of the hero, with other Links. 

 

Ravio had seen nearly everything. Link, the real Link, pleading her highness to take his piece of the Triforce away. The young boy who’d become so drained of everything that he would do anything to make his pain stop. Link had been so, so tired of everything. And Ravio honestly couldn’t blame him, after hearing about some of the things that happened on his adventures.

 

When Ravio found him in the Sanctuary the priest, the hysteria of losing his daughter, had accidentally let it slip that Link was the hero of Legend. Ravio hadn’t believed him, this young boy couldn’t be the legendary hero. The boy looked exactly like him, it was only after Link woke up and immediately decided to set off and talk to the princess (apparently his  _ sister _ ) after a long heavy sigh that Ravio realised this really was the kind of person he was looking for. That Link wasn’t a coward like he was, Link really was a hero.

 

The motivation to save the sages started with Zelda’s belief in him, the extra push was when the son of the blacksmith and his witch friend Irene disappeared. They were children and they were also the sages Yuga was looking for. Link wouldn’t stand for it, so he got serious.

 

But then something happened. Something in Link’s mind changed after he received his piece of the Triforce. Something changed in Lorule Castle after Hilda spoke to him. He’d immediately decided to give her the piece of the Triforce hearing about Lorule’s past. Ravio remembered the look of pure confusion that crossed over her Highness’s face when Link agreed to hand over his Triforce willingly. He was sure his own mirrored that look.

 

And when the hero finally fell, everything had gone downhill. Yuga predictably betrayed Hilda, stealing the final piece of the Triforce for himself, becoming the Dark Beast Ganon. Neither Hilda or Ravio knew what to do. Ravio wasn’t supposed to be there yet, he was a coward, he was supposed to hide in the shadows until everything was safe. And Hilda, she didn’t know how to fight. 

 

But then, something appeared beside Ravio from the shadows. A literal shadow with the likeness of Link appeared, stepping in to defeat the beast and saved the princess. Ravio had watched in awe as the shadow touched the glittering Triforce, restoring Lorule’s own. When the golden light faded from the room, the shadow’s appearance had taken on the form of Link. Actual Link. Rather than its original purple-black, it was as if Link had never fallen. 

 

It had confused them all, to the point where Ravio actually revealed himself to the princess and the shadow. The shadow swore its wish was for Lorule’s Triforce to be restored and nothing else. Perhaps it was due to the fact the shadow essentially became a hero in its own right, and the Hylian goddesses were rewarding him for that. Ravio would never really know.

 

Something still concerned him about the whole thing. As he and Hilda spoke to the ‘new Link’, the...the original’s body disappeared. One moment there, the next it was gone. Princess Zelda hadn’t noticed anything, or at least Ravio didn’t  _ think _ she did. If Zelda noticed, she never mentioned it, and he was still far too great of a coward to ask. 

 

At least that had gotten better. He wasn’t so much of a coward anymore. The shadow, he really should call the shadow by name, Legend taught him how to properly wield a sword. Ravio didn’t particularly like it, the bow or a hammer felt a lot better in his hands than the sword however for practicality sake Ravio took up the sword. It was weird how easily Legend taught him. It was almost like he had done it before, which would be impossible given the fact he was a  **_shadow clone_ ** . 

 

Something in the larger picture was begging itself to be found, Ravio just had no idea where to start.

 

Though it wasn’t really time to think about that, was it? Princess Zelda invited him over for the first time in a while, and by the tone of her message whatever he was invited for wasn’t just a casual visit.

 

The doors to the princess’s study shut behind him. Remaining in the room with him were the princess and Impa, Impa with the serious look she usually had on her old, weathered face and the princess looked absolutely exhausted.

 

“Your highness, thank you for your letter.” Ravio said, kneeling before the princess.

 

“Ravio, for the last time, we’re friends. You don’t have to be so formal with me. I truly wish we could meet under better circumstances, however.” Zelda said, rising from her chair.

 

The princess walked around her desk towards the still kneeling rabbit man. She offered her hand to him. “I’ve had another dream, I fear something terrible might happen to Legend. I...I’m worried for him.” 

 

Legend was with his other hero friends. They were on some adventure even he didn’t know the exact details of at the moment. All Legend knew, or at least what he was willing to tell Ravio was that monsters from different Hyrules were appearing where they weren’t supposed to be and they were infected with some kind of magic that made the monsters extremely difficult to take down. Everyone he was travelling was a past, future or present but in a completely different frame of existence hero. It was confusing, Ravio didn’t entirely get it but he was sure with all those heroes Legend would be safe.

 

Unless of course, “You don’t think they figured it out, do you?” he asked.

 

“For everyone’s sake, I certainly hope not. He may merely me a shadow in the same form of Link, but he’s the only thing that remains of my brother. I’m hoping it was nothing but a dream.” Zelda replied.

 

They both knew Zelda’s dreams were always right. Some strange power from the Triforce of Wisdom, a constant plague of the princess’s mind whenever her dreams were about something terrible happening to  ~~ Link ~~ Legend or Hyrule. The country not the person. She cared enough about the boy named Hyrule, because he was their legacy. But she wasn’t really his princess so…

 

Never mind.

 

Frantic quick footsteps could be heard approaching from the halls. The stopped just outside of the door. “Princess Zelda we need you out in the courtyard right now. Something is wrong with...the hero.” 

 

Ravio only continued to be amazed by Princess Zelda. How she was able to run after than him in a dress and heels was completely beyond Ravio’s comprehension. He suspected something may have to do with Link, or possibly Legend, teaching her how to defend herself better so  _ if _ Ganon, or whatever force was plaguing Hyrule right now she’d be able to protect herself when he wasn’t there. Honestly he admired that about both Legend and Zelda. They had ridiculous dedication to each other and Hyrule despite not actually being related anymore.

 

Once they arrived in the courtyard, Ravio and Zelda’s worst fears had apparently been realised. Irene, one of the Sages and another one of Legend’s closer allies in Hyrule, tried to keep Legend standing despite her height being nearly a foot shorter than Legend. And Legend, himself, wasn’t looking so good. Even from where they stood, Ravio could see thin dark wisps of his true shadow form from beneath his hands.

 

“Legend, what happened?” Zelda asked, breaking out of her stunned stupor and rushing over to the shadow.

 

From the look in Legend’s eyes, Ravio could see he was holding back whatever response he truly wanted to share. He was extremely worried, even more so than initially. If he was here alone, or at least Link-wise alone that could only mean one thing.

 

“They know.” Legend replied, voice cracking in between words.

 

Part of this was Ravio’s own fault, he knew that. If he hadn’t been so much of a coward and actually stood up to Yuga they would never be in this entire mess. If Ravio hadn’t been such a coward he would have been able to save Lorule himself. But Ravio had been a coward, he ran away and pushed his problems onto this boy he didn’t know and look at where that brought them. The boy was dead, his shadow took his place and really wasn’t doing much better than the original boy. 

 

He was going to be a coward no longer. He may not completely trust Legend, but he owed it to the man who saved his home, and her Highness.

  
_ From now on, my friend, I will fight for you _ .


End file.
